Live and Love at Xavier's
by Illyria-Rosenburg
Summary: i'm no good at summaries or titles for that matter... please just R&R... rating is just for a brief outburst of language


The X-Men Universe is not mine... It belongs to Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby... I'm only playing here... I'll put everything back the way it was when i'm done...promise... ;-)

Avaera Conrad tucked a bright pink strand of hair behind her ear, bending over her diary once more to put pen to paper. Her mind was far from her writing however. The spring formal was coming and she so desperately wanted a a date. From her spot in the far corner of the lunchroom, she watched the students mill past her as if she wasn't even there. Normally, she didn't mind being viewed as invisible but it bothered her today for some reason. That was why she nearly jumped out of her skin when Mike Jernberg approached her and asked to sit with her. 

"H-h-hi," she stuttered.

He smiled shyly in return. "Hi, you must be Avaera..."

"Yeah, that's me. What'cha n-n-ne-need?" She flushed, hating the stutter that showed up when she was nervous.

"A date with you, if that's ok."

Avaera gaped. "You...wanna...go out...with me?!"

"Yeah"

She didn't know what to say. No one had ever even so much as glanced her way let along asked her out before now. Mike figured that Hell must have frozen over because despite her prodigious vocabulary, Avaera found herself speechless. He took her speechlessness as a yes, telling her that he'd pick her up as five the following evening. Such was her surprise at being asked out, that the most she could muster as a response was a whispered "sure" as he walked away.

On the day of the spring formal, Avaera did what most would have thought impossible, she wore a dress. Going up to Ms. Grey's office, she nearly turned back and hid in her room but the vision of Mike's disappointed eyes spurred her on. Knocking lightly on the door, Avaera prayed that Ms. Grey wouldn't dismiss her. Several minutes passed before she heard the call of "Come in." from within the office.

Pushing open the door, Avaera looked around the room as was her habit, that she might gain new material for her stories. "Umm....Ms. Grey...I-i-i-i was hoping that you could make me p-p-pr-pre-pretty."

Jean raised an eyebrow. "You're already pretty. I can't make someone be what they already are."

Avaera flushed, her words coming out in a rush. "Withmakeup,that'showIwantyoutomakeme pretty."

The fiery haired telepath suddenly realized her faux pas. The poor girl wasn't looking for an instant solution to a perceived flaw in her already fine features, rather it was a crash course in applying make-up that she desired. "As I said, Avaera, you're already pretty but we can certainly highlight your best features. Why don't you sit down and we'll talk about what you like best about your face and than we'll use the right amounts of make-up to play up those features." Jean got out her make-up case and they began to talk with Avaera gaining more confidence the more time she spent with Ms. Gray, gradually losing her stutter and letting her voice carry with a surety that she had never felt before.

When Avaera emerged from Ms. Grey's office, she looked like a much different person. Touches of silver blue eye shadow complimented her eyes while barely there blush highlighted her cheekbones and to finish the ensemble, a deep blood red lipstick adorned her cupid's bow lips. Hurrying back to her room, she almost couldn't contain herself, she was so excited.

Pacing the length of her room, Avaera nearly wore a rut in the floor waiting for Mike to arrive. When she heard the knock at the door, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Taking a deep breath, it was all she could do not to rip the door off the hinges. Fidgeting with a fold of her skirt, she opened the door to stunned silence.

Mike couldn't believe what he saw. The punk queen that he had a crush on had somehow become even cuter. "Wow...you're..." His voice trailed off, his mind unable to supply a word or group of words that were appropriate enough to even begin to approximate the beauty that he saw before him.

Completely misinterpreting Mike's reaction to her, Avaera raised a hand to her face, intending to wipe away the make-up her visage. "You hate it. I should have known," she stated flatly as tears gathered in her eyes.

Mike quickly saw his mistake and moved swiftly to remedy it. "No, I love it, really!" He reached out a hand to stop her from marring the enhanced beauty of her face. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I screw shit up so easily. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I still want you to be my date. Is that cool?"

Avaera gaped for the second time in two days. That was the most words she had ever heard him put together in once instance and it wasn't the least bit derogatory towards her. "If you want. I'll still be your date. I mean, if you want." She stared at the floor, unsure of what to do next.

"If you still want to, I'd really like that." He held out his arm for Avaera to take and smiled as she accepted the invitation. The two of them walked down the hall like they had already been elected the May King and Queen.

Nodding at Ms. Moonstar who stood at the door playing the part of the stern chaperone, Avaera couldn't help but grin. This quite possibly had to be the best day of her life. She had make-up on, was with the best boy in school, and looked like a princess in a dress. Oh that those mean bitches could see her now.


End file.
